2014–2017 Mick Carter (
Danny Dyer) calls her to Walford for the first time in October 2014 when Linda starts acting strangely, refusing to be intimate with him and complaining of migraines. Elaine convinces Linda to dress up and work the bar during a musical bingo night run by her granddaughter
Nancy Carter (
Maddy Hill), and later becomes suspicious when she notices tension between her daughter and
Dean Wicks (
Matt Di Angelo). She accuses Linda of having an affair with him, revealing that she cheated on Linda's deceased father John before his death. Linda denies this passionately and Elaine believes her, but still sensing something is wrong, warns Dean to stay away from Linda. She returns to Walford in December and finds out that Dean
raped Linda. Elaine then allows Mick and Linda to stay with her for a while to escape Albert Square. Elaine returns for an event at The Queen Vic, and then again when Linda has her five-month scan. After the scan, she breaks down to Elaine, revealing her fears that the baby is Dean's, not Mick's. It is later revealed that after Linda gives birth prematurely to
Ollie Carter (Jack Tilley), he is Mick's son. One year after Linda's rape, Mick arranges for Elaine to take her on holiday. They return early, and Elaine brings with her new toyboy fiancé,
Jason Adams (
Scott Neal) with her. The Carters are at first cautious of Jason, particularly Linda, which frustrates Elaine. Mick and Linda hear somebody downstairs, and when they investigate, they find Jason naked with Mick's great-aunt,
Babe Smith (
Annette Badland). Mick and Linda force Babe to get Jason to leave, without Elaine knowing. However, when Elaine teases Babe as to how she has never had a man in her life, Babe claims that she had sex with Jason. Elaine does not believe her and accuses her of trying to cause trouble for her and Jason. However, later that day, Babe plays a recording on her mobile phone to Elaine, the Carters and the pub's customers of Jason persuading her to help him rob the pub, revealing their one-night stand in the process. Elaine is furious and slaps Babe for humiliating her and for cheating with her fiancé, before Mick orders Jason to leave. Linda then persuades Elaine to listen to Babe's version of events, which reveal that she did not have sex with Jason, but they came close. Elaine manages to forgive Babe, but when Jason arrives for his belongings, she, Babe and Linda are all stunned at how remorseless he is for hurting the family. Linda throws Jason out. Elaine is thrilled when Linda and Mick plan to marry, but causes tension when she tries to take over the planning. Mick is able to get her involved in a nativity play, so she does not have time to plan the wedding. Once the couple marry, Elaine decides to return to Watford. She returns when Ollie is injured and may have brain damage. Linda misses a health worker's visit, so Elaine takes charge. On Christmas Eve 2016, Linda receives a phonecall from a hospital in Spain informing her that Elaine has suffered a severe
stroke and it is unknown whether she will recover. Linda decides she has to leave Walford with her son
Johnny Carter (
Ted Reilly) to be with and support her mother through her illness. After six months away caring for Elaine, Linda returns to Walford for her 40th birthday party. However, she returns to Watford the same evening. It is revealed that Elaine has recovered and that her stroke was not as severe as first made out, and that she and Linda are hiding a secret. Linda's secret is later revealed to be that she was diagnosed with
cervical cancer while caring for Elaine. In September 2021, Linda leaves Walford with Ollie and her newborn daughter
Annie, to stay with Elaine.
2023–present After Mick disappears at sea and is presumed dead, his new widow
Janine Carter (
Charlie Brooks) decides to sell his half of The Queen Vic after getting arrested for perverting the court of justice. Elaine buys the other half to run it with Linda. Elaine quickly makes her presence felt and clashes with
Nish Panesar (
Navin Chowdhry) and his wife
Suki (
Balvinder Sopal), who wanted to buy the pub, and ends up barring the both of them, so Nish recruits his son
Vinny (
Shiv Jalota) to break in to The Queen Vic and vandalise it in revenge. The following month, Elaine's partner
George Knight (
Colin Salmon) arrives from
Marbella and moves into The Queen Vic with his two daughters
Gina (
Francesca Henry) and
Anna (
Molly Rainford), and their pet
Chihuahua,
Tyson, much to the dismay of Linda. George confronts Nish after discovering that he orchestrated the break-in and warns him off. Elaine fires
Alfie Moon (
Shane Richie) from The Queen Vic shortly after George's arrival which infuriates Linda. Linda clashes with George as Linda believes that George intends to fleece Elaine. He remains secretive about his ex-wife, prompting Linda to seek Phil's help to investigate her. George's ex-wife Rose is revealed to be
Cindy Beale (
Michelle Collins). Elaine and Cindy begin a feud and Elaine remains suspicious of Cindy. Elaine's suspicions are confirmed when Gina catches Cindy kissing George. After
Pastor Gideon Clayton (Howard Saddler) sexually assaults her friend
Yolande Trueman (
Angela Wynter), Yolande confides in Elaine who persuades her to report the sexual assault, which she initially declines. When Yolande reports the assault, she asks Elaine for support during the examination process. When George's adoptive father
Eddie Knight (
Christopher Fairbank) is revealed to have murdered his biological father in a racially aggravated attack, Elaine supports George and urges him to forgive his adoptive mother
Gloria (
Elizabeth Counsell) after she hid information about his birth parents. Gloria later dies from a heart attack shortly after George forgives her. After this, George's behaviour spirals out of control and he starts to participate in unlicensed boxing which injuries and nearly kills him. Elaine becomes jealous when George constantly turns to Cindy, and she is heartbroken when she finds out that they have kissed. Elaine ends her relationship with George but changes her mind and gradually forgives him. Before getting back together with George, Elaine confronts Cindy asks her if she wants George or her current partner,
Ian Beale (
Adam Woodyatt). Cindy decides to stay with Ian. Elaine continues to struggle with Linda following her alcohol relapse, in the months after she murdered
Keanu Taylor (
Danny Walters) on Christmas Day (see "
The Six"). Elaine, unaware of what happened at Christmas, calls Johnny (now played by
Charlie Suff) to help her with Linda. George's biological brothers,
Kobina (Jonathon Nyati) and
Kojo Asare (
Dayo Koleosho) arrive in Walford to seek answers about their father's death. Elaine and George agree to look after Kojo after Kobina admits he is struggling to care for Kojo as he has
autism. They initially struggle with Kojo but he is comforted by a tape of his and George's late mother singing. When Ollie accidentally breaks the tape, Elaine goes to repair the tape and has it digitised. During Dean's trial, Elaine supports Linda in court when she gives a witness statement under false pretences. Linda later tells her mother about the events of Christmas, which shocks Elaine and she distances herself, so a deeply hurt Linda lashes out at Elaine for not supporting her since her return. Elaine and Linda have a heart-to-heart and she reassures her of her unwavering support. After Pastor Clayton takes his own life following a heated confrontation with Yolande, it comes to light that more victims had already come forward with accusations against him. The growing revelations weigh heavily on Yolande, leaving her grappling with guilt over his death. Once again, she turns to Elaine, who reassures her that she was not responsible for Clayton's suicide. Elaine comforts Yolande, reminding her that the blame lies solely with Clayton and not with her or the other victims. In November 2024, Elaine reveals to Linda that her father John, was gay and had a relationship behind her back, after John's former partner,
Drew Peacock (
Paul Clayton) is hired as a drag queen to perform at Elaine's hen night before her wedding to George. Elaine explained to Linda that she walked in on John and Drew sleeping together and decided to keep it secret for the sake of their family. Linda is distraught at this revelation and insults Elaine who slaps her in return. Elaine meets with Drew to discuss both of their relationships with John, both make peace as Drew leaves Walford. The following week, Elaine asks Cindy to honey trap George ahead of their wedding to make sure that their love is genuine after the tension that was created since Cindy's return. Cindy does this and George cements his love for Elaine but finds out she was behind the honey trap, this prompts George to call the wedding off in anger. Elaine apologies to George and decides to leave Walford for a break, but after Gina and Anna remind George what he would be losing – and that Elaine forgave him for worse, George goes after Elaine just as she leaves and changes his mind on getting married and they wed on the same day, with Elaine now officially becoming a member of the Knight family. Elaine subsequently supports George and the rest of her new family after Kojo falls off a stairwell in an accident witnessed by Cindy and
Lauren Branning (
Jacqueline Jossa) shortly after Kojo sees Cindy and George’s son,
Junior Knight (
Micah Balfour) kissing outside of The Queen Vic. Elaine and George decide to go on their honeymoon after Cindy and Junior encourage them, stating that they would look after Kojo while they were away. When Elaine returns from her honeymoon, she finds out Linda has deteriorated as a result of her alcohol relapse. She is angered by the lack of support from Linda's close friends, and scolds
Bernadette (
Clair Norris) for encouraging Linda to relapse. When Linda brings home a random man, Glen, to The Queen Vic, Elaine throws him out after he barges into Annie and Ollie's bedroom, believing it to be a bathroom. This prompts her to apologise to Phil, Sharon, Alfie and Johnny, who tell her that they need Linda to hit rock bottom if there is anyway to deal with the situation. Elaine gives Linda an ultimatum: go into rehab or get kicked out of The Queen Vic. When Elaine books Linda a place in rehab, Linda refuses to go and results in her falling off the bed after being pushed by Linda. After Linda blames Elaine for turning a blind-eye to Linda's drinking, Linda takes a vodka bottle and storms out of The Queen Vic. Linda experiences a vision of what would happen to her if she continues drinking which shows her imminent death, funeral and Johnny becoming an alcoholic. In the vision, Elaine is consumed by guilt after Linda's death, believing she did not do enough to help her. At the funeral, Nancy blames Elaine for Linda's struggles with alcoholism, accusing her upbringing in a pub as the cause, and slaps her in anger. Later, Nancy tells Elaine that she and Lee plan to take Ollie and Annie, leaving Elaine distraught and demanding everyone leave The Queen Vic. Snapping out of the vision, Linda pours the vodka down the drain and returns to The Queen Vic, where she tells Elaine she is ready to go to rehab. Elaine promises to support her every step of the way, and the two embrace, both in tears. Elaine later tells everyone in the Vic that Linda had gone to rehab following her worsening behaviour and asked they keep Linda in their thoughts. Ahead of Christmas, Elaine stumbles upon a recording of Cindy confessing to
David Wicks (
Michael French) of her affair with Junior, captured on the same device used for the bird songs recorded by Freddie and Anna. Confronting Cindy, Elaine gives her an ultimatum, confess the affair to George and the family or risk the recording being played publicly. After George reflects on the challenges of the year, Elaine has a change of heart but insists Cindy leave Walford and sever all ties with George. When Cindy is blackmailed by Elaine, Cindy hatches a plan to get Ian to move to France with her to avoid the affair being exposed, Ian reluctantly agrees and they decide to spend their last Christmas in Walford; however, the recording is then stolen by an unknown assailant. Christmas Day arrives and Cindy asks Elaine if the recording has been found but she tells her that it has not. Cindy begs for Elaine to work together to stop the affair from being exposed, but she declines. The recording is revealed to have been retrieved by Lauren and is later played on the speakers at The Queen Vic, exposing Cindy’s affair with Junior. In the aftermath of the reveal, George slips to Elaine that he still sees Cindy as his wife as they discuss the revelation of the affair. Shortly afterwards, Elaine orders George to leave The Queen Vic, leaving their newly married life in doubt. After Cindy is left for dead by an unknown assailant following the affair reveal, Elaine aids George before she heads to the hospital. The pair later reconcile. Despite their reconciliation, Elaine remains plagued by paranoia, convinced that George does not truly love her. Tensions escalate when Junior reveals that George shared a kiss with his ex-wife, Sabrina, during a recent encounter. Hurt and disillusioned, Elaine is further unsettled after Drew Peacock returns to Walford and urges her not to settle for being someone's support act. Spurred on by Drew’s words, Elaine has an affair and confesses to George the following day, leading to their split. Determined to keep The Queen Vic, Elaine draws a line in the sand, and the former couple soon go to war. The emotional strain takes its toll, and Elaine collapses and suffers a
heart attack. On her return to the Square, she tells Linda that she is ready to sell The Queen Vic, admitting that being a mother means more to her than being a landlady. Elaine initially rents The Queen Vic out to Alfie and
Kat Moon (
Jessie Wallace), and the two parties exchange residences rather an immediate sell but later do. Struggling to adjust without the pub, Elaine notices Cindy having difficulties managing The Prince Albert, the local gay bar. She offers her assistance, and after proving effective in the role, Cindy invites her to become co-manager - a position Elaine promptly accepts. == Other appearances ==